Cross teacher arrested for sexual battery of student

A teacher at Cross High School has been arrested by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and charged with three counts of sexual battery of a student.

Ellen Lindsay Niemiec, 29, of Summerville turned herself in at the Sheriff’s Office Thursday afternoon, according to BCSO.

She was released on a $21,092 bond and was told by the judge to stay away from Cross and its high school students, according to reports.

The BCSO has been investigating this case since receiving a complaint on April 28 in reference to the sexual battery of a student.

The investigation revealed that three students were victims of the suspect. Based on the ages of the students, two of the charges are felonies and one is a misdemeanor.

The investigation revealed that this conduct had been going on for several weeks prior to the Sheriff’s Office being notified by the school principal, according to BCSO.

The safety of all students is the top priority of the Berkeley County School District, according to a statement released by the district Thursday afternoon.

“Under no circumstances does the BCSD condone or tolerate any inappropriate conduct between its employees and students,” the district said in a release.

When the administration learned of concerns with an employee’s alleged conduct, the employee was placed on administrative leave and the district reported the matter to law enforcement to begin an investigation, according to BCSD.

Since that time, the district has cooperated completely with the BCSO in its investigation.

“We have learned today (Thursday) that the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has charged the teacher with two felony and one misdemeanor counts of sexual battery with a student,” BCSD Public Information Officer Susan Haire wrote in an email. “Ms. Niemiec is no longer an employee of the district.

“We are limited in these circumstances as to what we can properly say publicly, because we must protect the confidentiality of all district students and their families and because there is an ongoing criminal investigation in this situation.

“Any questions about the investigation should be directed to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.”

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